


Dinner and a Show

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M, birthday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 13:30:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13459263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Shadow celebrates her birthday with her friends, and then later with Darko. Shadow belongs to Shadowlord13, Gwendolyn belongs to hobbithorsewhat on tumblr, Zelda belongs to ZDusk, Elsa belongs to twracehorse on tumblr, Ali belongs to sso-aliarchdotter on tumblr, Eden belongs to sso-eden-dawnvalley on tumblr, Jacky belongs to Zebrablanket, and Alessa belongs to sso-duskhill on tumblr.





	Dinner and a Show

Shadow tapped her foot as she waited at the Fort Pinta bus stop. She sighed, checking her watch again. Dancer lipped at her watch, possibly annoyed at the sunlight reflecting off of the metal, and Shadow laughed.

“Don’t, it’s a brand new watch,” said Shadow, still grinning as she wiped the slobber off on her jeans. Still seeing no bus, she turned and sat down on the bench seat, one leg crossed over the other and her chin on her hand. Ever since the Dundull bus service had started running again, the bus seemed to take forever to get to Fort Pinta. She’d heard quite a few people, mostly James Cloudmill, complaining about it.

But at last, the bus appeared on the horizon, kicking up dust from the old road, and Shadow stood, lifting the brim of her traditional cowboy hat slightly so that she could see the bus approaching. She grabbed her bus ticket out as well, the old green laminated cardboard creased in the middle from multiple foldings and unfoldings. If not for the laminate, she was pretty sure that it would be in tatters by now.

“Stay here,” said Shadow, glancing back at her horse. “I’ll be back soon.” She had to be, Darko had promised her a birthday dinner this morning over sleepy morning kisses interrupted too soon by a hungry cat demanding breakfast. Dancer only gave a toss of his head before lowering his head and grazing at the grass that grew on the side of the road. He’d probably wander into the fort before too long.

But first, her friends had informed her in the group chat the night before that her presence was required at a birthday ice cream party at Leonardo’s Ice Cream Parlour in Jorvik City. So, as Shadow took her seat on the bus, she couldn’t help but smile.

After quite a lengthy journey on Jorvik’s public transport, Shadow finally stepped off of the tram and onto the pavement in Governor’s Fall, stretching her legs to rid herself of the stiffness that had set in during the journey. Then, she grinned as she spotted her friends waving from inside the ice cream parlour.

“Hi, guys,” said Shadow, returning the many birthday hugs that she received and smiling at all of the birthday wishes.

“Happy birthday, Shadow,” said Zelda, grinning, and looked over towards the ice cream counter. “Leonardo, she’s here now!”

“Righto, I’ll bring it over right away,” said Leonardo, turning around to open the large box freezer behind him. Shadow grinned as Zelda pulled her into one of the booth seats, which was full to capacity. Zelda sat between her and the wall, Louisa sat across from her with Gwendolyn (the pair of them looking like good little Soul Riders with their druid outfits and braided hair), and, in the next booth along, Elsa sat beside Ali with Jacky and Alessa across from them, and Eden sat in a booth on her own because there weren’t enough seats. She quickly got up and moved to one of the bar stools that were dotted along the glass divider separating the seats from the counter, so that she wasn’t so alone.

“Aww, you even decorated,” Shadow cooed, grinning as she looked at the balloons and streamers decorating the ice cream parlour.

“Well, that was mostly Leonardo,” said Gwendolyn with a laugh. “When he found out that we were having a birthday party, he went a little overboard. He’s a good man.” She smiled fondly.

“It was very sweet of him,” said Louisa.

“Now, normally I do birthday parties for children, but lately, I’ve had quite a few requests for birthday parties for older people,” said Leonardo as he set the ice cream cake down on the table.

“Have you ever thought about adding a party room?” asked Eden. “I’m sure that’d make birthday parties even better.”

“I will put in an application to the council,” said Leonardo. “Perhaps I could add in some bigger booths as well, possibly with seats that wrap around against the corner of the building.”

“Ooh, yes, like at McJarls,” said Elsa. “That’s a great idea, you should totally do that.”

“I will,” said Leonardo with a smile. “Enjoy your cake.”

“Thank you,” said Shadow, smiling up at him and then around at her friends. The group of them quickly gathered around her, beaming down at her, and Shadow blushed and grinned as they began to sing.

There were no candles to be blown out, because putting open flame on an ice cream cake was a rather bad idea.

“And we all brought presents,” said Jacky, putting a large box down on the table. Shadow laughed, her cheeks still warm from all of the attention.

“Aww, you guys didn’t have to,” said Shadow, but she opened the box while Eden took the knife from a nervous Louisa and cut the cake. Inside was a black wolf statue, and Shadow gasped and covered her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. “Oh my gosh, this is beautiful.”

“Yeah, we all chipped in for it,” said Alessa, smiling at Esmeralda’s beaming face.

“You can put it in your stable or something,” said Ali. “I’m sure it’ll look great in there.”

“Yes, I love that idea,” said Shadow, brushing tears from her eyes. “Thank you all so much!”

“Well, a real wolf makes for a very bad pet,” said Alessa. “So we decided to get you a different kind of wolf.”

“And here is something extra,” said Louisa, sliding an envelope across the table. “Because what’s a birthday on Jorvik without a new horse?”

“Wow, that’s a lot of star coins,” said Shadow after sliding her fingernail under the back of the envelope to open it and pulling out the piece of paper. She looked up at her smiling friend over the paper which read ‘5000 star coins’.

“Treat yourself,” said Zelda, grinning at her.

Shadow felt herself filled with joy as she ate ice cream cake and talked with her friends. It was a warm and comfortable atmosphere, despite being in an ice cream parlour, even with another group of girls sneaking in and queuing up an annoying song to play on the jukebox. Sinus also came along to annoy them, pawing at knees and begging for ice cream. To his credit, though, the cat didn’t jump onto any tables. He also didn’t get any, because they all knew that cats were lactose intolerant. Eventually, Leonardo saved the day by coming over with some pet-safe ice cream and drawing Sinus away. Shadow watched him go with a smile, thinking of her own cat back at Dark Core HQ.

As the party began to wind down, Shadow found herself not wanting to leave. But she knew that Darko was waiting for her, and probably Kito too.

“Thanks so much for this, guys,” said Shadow as she stood, grinning, from the table. “It was the best birthday ever, it really was.” She was definitely going to put that wolf statue in the stable, probably in the little kitchen room.

“I’m glad you had fun,” said Gwendolyn, beaming at her. “It was so nice for all of us to hang out like this, we should definitely do it more often.”

“I’ll probably put on another horse show soon,” said Jacky. 

“Just make sure to book the riding hall in advance this time,” Eden teased. Jacky rolled her eyes and laughed, choosing not to rant about other groups this time.

“I’ll let you guys know when I organise another show,” said Jacky. “You’ll be the first to know.”

“I look forward to watching it,” said Louisa, smiling. “Even if I never participate, it’s still fun to watch.”

“I had fun but I should get going now,” said Shadow. “My boyfriend awaits.” She grinned.

“Yeah, do you mind if I catch a ride on the barge?” asked Alessa. “Dunya texted me earlier, she’s bored and wants some company.”

“Sure, since we’re both going that way,” said Shadow. While everyone else got off of the bus at Dundull, Alessa and Shadow carried on to Fort Pinta, where they collected their horses and rode down to the ferry docks after Shadow had dropped off her wolf statue. On the middle dock, they waited, and soon boarded the Dark Core barge that pulled up silently, visible only to them. Anyone watching would think that they’d just boarded another ferry.

At the oil rig, Shadow and Alessa donned ponchos and stepped off of the barge and onto the platform, both seeking shelter under the same umbrella until Alessa parted ways with her at the door to Darko’s quarters. She didn’t need to knock, only enter the room, where she took off her poncho and hung it on the coatrack along with her hat.

“Darko, I’m home,” Shadow called, walking further into the room. Kito appeared, meowing, and rubbed around her legs, purring loudly in welcome. Shadow grinned, bending down to pick up her cat.

“Hello, baby, yes, I’m home,” Shadow cooed, stroking his black fur and scratching under his neck. Kito purred loudly.

“Can I get some of that?” a familiar voice asked, and Shadow grinned up at Darko.

“Alright, come on,” said Shadow, gently putting Kito on the ground, and wrapped her arms around Darko, very much enjoying his embrace. Pulling back slightly, Darko kissed her, sending heat through her and effectively drying any bit of rain that had landed on her.

“Happy birthday, my darling Shadow,” Darko murmured, gazing into her eyes. Shadow blushed.

“Thank you,” said Shadow, smiling. “I had a little party with my friends at the ice cream parlour in Jorvik City, it was great.”

“I’m glad,” said Darko. “Your friends are so very good to you.” Shadow smiled again, resting her head on his chest for a moment.

“But don’t worry, I remembered that you promised me a birthday dinner, so I didn’t eat too much,” said Shadow, looking back up at him.

“Excellent,” said Darko, a grin spreading across his face. He took a step back, gesturing over to where the couch normally was. It had been replaced by a small table, on which sat a single lit candle. Two places were set out with knives and forks, including napkins, and Shadow smiled as Darko led her over to it.

“I feel underdressed,” said Shadow with a laugh, looking bashfully down at her t-shirt and jeans.

“Would you like me to change your clothes?” asked Darko, holding his hand up.

“Yes please,” said Shadow with a smile. In an instant, she felt different, a red, ruffled dress clinging to her curves and cascading down her legs. It only had a few ruffles, but it still looked and felt very fancy, baring her arms. Shadow felt like a fancy dancer, though she knew that she’d only be eating dinner. Even her hair was curled more than usual, parted on one side to fall in waves down her neck.

“You are the most stunning woman I have ever laid eyes on,” Darko murmured, and took her face in his hands to kiss her.

“Says the man who dressed me,” said Shadow with a grin. Darko chuckled. “But you really know how to make a girl feel special and beautiful, so thank you.”

“Oh, my dear, the night is only just beginning,” said Darko, pulling her chair out so that Shadow could sit at the table. In this part of the room, it felt like a restaurant with mood lighting, and Shadow felt her heart racing.

Dinner was a three-course meal, bruschetta followed by a delicious roast chicken and roasted vegetables with gravy, finally finished off with a slice of delectable chocolate cake for dessert. Shadow licked her lips and sat back with a satisfied sigh and a smile, resting her hands on her stomach after she’d finished eating. She closed her eyes, feeling perfectly content.

And then the music began. Shadow opened her eyes, about to protest a dance, but what she saw was Darko standing on a stage that had replaced the television. It was only a small stage, but it had polished floorboards and red curtains that were open to reveal Darko standing there with a microphone. The music played from a speaker behind him, and Shadow felt heat flush to her face that had nothing to do with how much she’d eaten.

“I remember you told me once that you liked when I sang,” said Darko. Shadow nodded, smiling. Darko grinned back at her. “I don’t sing much, but I will sing for you.” And, as the music continued, Darko began to sing a Spanish love song. Shadow couldn’t stop grinning, tears brimming in her eyes as his deep voice sent goosebumps washing over her and her heart into a flutter.

As the song finished, Darko put the microphone back into the stand and descended the steps to take Shadow’s hands in his own. He smiled warmly at her.

“I love you,” said Shadow, leaning in to kiss him. Darko returned the kiss, one hand on her hip while the other gently stroked through her hair.

“And I love you, Shadow,” said Darko, giving her another kiss. 

“This was the most wonderful birthday dinner I’ve ever had,” said Shadow, unable to stop grinning. “You put so much work into this.”

“You are worth working for,” said Darko, looking deep into her eyes so that her heart soared. “And it was all worth it, just to see that smile on your face.” And Shadow felt certain that this man was going to be with her for a very long time, if not forever. She’d never been so happy before.


End file.
